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Applied Science: Meteorology

UA South's small campus atmosphere offers students the advantage of individualized instruction and support while also providing access to the resources of one of the top-ranked research universities in the nation.

The Bachelor of Applied Science with an emphasis in Meteorology prepares students for careers in weather forecasting (both the public and private sector), data analysis, environmental sciences, as well as for graduate school paths in the atmospheric sciences and many other physical sciences and remote sensing. Students explore weather and climate phenomena by using mathematics, physics, statistics, and computer programming software. This degree is fully online, and fully quantitative to include the relevant atmospheric, math, physics, and other environmental topics required by the National Weather Service and the World Meteorological Organization. All students currently holding a CCAF AAS degree in Weather Technology/Meteorology from the United States Air Force are eligible to apply to this program.

Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, as well as military transcripts

Contact us if you have any questions about the transferability of your credits, your admissibility to the program, or the application process. For full application instructions, please visit UA Online.

UA South maintains a variety of tools to help you plan your education. We include them here for your reference. To make a personalized plan for your UA South education, contact us!

Transfer Pathway Agreements guide students who are earning specific community college degrees to transfer seamlessly into the Bachelor of Applied Science degree at The University of Arizona South. Specifically, United States Air Force students currently holding an Associate of Applied Science from the Community College of the Air Force in Weather Technology or a related field are eligible to apply to this program. The BAS in Meteorology is an approved AU-ABC pathway. Please see http://bas.atmo.arizona.edu/ for more information.

All prospective students are encouraged to speak with an academic advisor for an unofficial evaluation of their transfer credit, including military credits, to ensure the timely and cost efficient progress towards their Bachelor’s degree.

Courses are based in theory with a strong focus on professional application. Courses in the major include:

ATMO 436a Fundamentals of Atmospheric Science- This course will give a general overview of important topics in atmospheric sciences, such as thermodynamics, atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and radiative transfer. Students will learn how to broadly explain atmospheric behavior in general conceptual and mathematical terms. This course is designed to prepare students with the broad knowledge of atmospheric phenomena, so that they may get a more specific and complex understanding in courses such as Dynamic Meteorology I.

ATMO 441a Dynamic Meteorology I- Dynamic meteorology is a fundamental course that will allow students to marry their conceptual understanding of atmospheric motions with a mathematical and physical understanding. Students will learn the physical equations that govern the motions of the atmosphere, and will use those equations to be able to explain atmospheric behavior. Students completing this course will be able to explain the physics behind the motion of the atmosphere using vital forces and frames of reference, describe the characteristics of balanced flows, analyze the structure and propagation of waves in the atmosphere, and compare the importance of certain factors in the planetary boundary layer versus the free atmosphere.

ATMO 430 Computational Methods in Atmospheric Science- This course has a dual purpose. The first is for students to learn and apply computer programming skills to mathematically analyze and display data. The second is for students to learn methods of numerical analysis and apply them to atmospheric observational and model output data. Students will calculate numerical solutions to specific problems in dynamic and physical meteorology and synthesize their fundamental knowledge of atmospheric science with these numerical solutions to interpret the data.